Social assistance programs are insufficient to meet the basic needs of individuals and families in Ontario. In fact, the vast majority of those living on social assistance are living in what is considered deep poverty and the trend is only getting worse. 

Ontario has been missing the mark. 

The long-term target of Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy - Opportunity for All is to reduce poverty by 50% by 2030. With as many as 61% of those living in poverty receiving social assistance and rates that continue to fall short of inflation, we are clearly trending in the wrong direction.

Change in total welfare incomes between 2021 and 2022 for 
all example households in each province

This chart shows the change in total welfare incomes between 2021 and 2022 for each of the scenario households in Ontario. Not one came close to meeting the National Rate of Inflation which was 6.8%. 

This has been over 20 years in the making. 

Below you will find two graphs depicting the trajectory of social assistance incomes over time for example households with and without children.

Welfare incomes for example unattached single households 
in Ontario 1986–2022, 2022 constant dollars

Welfare incomes for example households with children 
in Ontario 1986–2022, 2022 constant dollars 

It is clear that the current safety net of social assistance is not only grossly insufficient for Ontario individuals and families, but is shows a deepening of poverty over the last 20 years.

Ontario needs a reality check.

REALITY CHECK: While there are many myths and misperceptions about social assistance, we need to face reality: social assistance in Ontario is just not livable.  

REALITY #1: People receiving Ontario Works (OW) or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) live in poverty.  

The incomes of people on social assistance do not adequately provide for even the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter.  

Currently, a single person on Ontario Works receives a maximum monthly benefit of $733. A single person with a disability receiving ODSP gets a maximum monthly benefit of $1,308.   

OW rates were cut by 21.6 per cent in 1997 and have been frozen for the past five years. ODSP rates increased by 6.5 per cent in 2023. While this was a welcome step, it didn’t go far enough to catch up to inflation.

Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for  
unattached single households in Ontario, 2022 

REALITY #2: For most people, social assistance is a necessity, not a choice. They’re dealing with an employment, family or health crisis and need financial assistance to tide them over temporarily.   

People go on social assistance because they have lost their job, lost a spouse, have a disability or are leaving a traumatic situation such as domestic violence. This could be any of us. 

Some people on OW and ODSP do work. But current rules mean that, even with income from employment, it’s hard to work your way out of poverty and off social assistance. For example, people on OW and ODSP are able to keep only the first $200 of any income they earn in a month, before half of any additional income is clawed back.   

And while people want to work, many are in short‐term, low‐wage jobs. If they get laid off, they often do not have enough hours to qualify for Employment Insurance or qualify for only a short time. They then rely on multiple, low-paying jobs or go back onto social assistance. Cycling off and on social assistance has more to do with the lack of good quality jobs than it does with a person’s willingness to work.  

Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for  
households with children in Ontario, 2022

REALITY #3: People on social assistance are working as hard as they can right now.   

Many social assistance recipients are facing some kind of trauma or adversity and need support, time, and space to stabilize their lives. Many others need the longer‐term support that comes with having a disability. 

And a lot of people on social assistance spend all their time figuring out how to survive on such low incomes. Their resilience, tenacity and resourcefulness deserve respect.  

Income support can also be an important bridge to independence, as some people need it to escape family violence or trauma and to forge a path to a new life. Many people are forced to rely on charity, like food banks and soup kitchens, which can come with feelings of shame and loss of dignity.  

REALITY #4: The vast majority of people on social assistance pay unsubsidized rents to private landlords, the same as anyone else.  

Only about 1 in 14 OW recipients and 1 in 9 ODSP recipients live in subsidized housing.  

People on social assistance who live in market-rate housing receive shelter allowances as part of their monthly allocations. A single person on OW gets a maximum shelter allowance of $390 per month. A single person on ODSP gets a maximum of $497.  

Shelter allowances are too low and rent costs too high for them to get by - so people will use money they’d earmarked for food and clothing to cover rent instead. Often, they have little choice but to live in unsafe, low-quality housing, with issues such as overcrowding, plumbing problems, mould, uncompleted repairs that compromise their health and safety.  

REALITY #5: Real-world academic studies show that people leave social assistance when paying jobs are available.  

Social assistance numbers increase during economic recession, when jobs are lost, and decrease when more jobs are available during a growing economy. That means economic cycles, not benefit rates, dictate who and how many people need social assistance   

Low social assistance rates make it impossible for people to look for and find work because they cannot afford appropriate clothing, transportation and other expenses.  

However, increasing benefit rates will allow people to pay for the essential items they need – like food, clothes, rent and other expenses – so they can be healthier and live with more dignity. Higher benefit rates allow people to stabilize their lives so they can become full participants in the community.  

Higher benefit rates also contribute to Ontario’s economy. Studies show that when low-income people get more money, they spend it on necessities in their local communities. That’s good for them and good for their community’s economy, and Ontario’s economy overall. 

REALITY #6: Poverty and reliance on social assistance is not a moral failing on the part of individuals.  

Economic conditions and personal crises are not an individual choice.  

There are many reasons that people need income support, including  

• People dealing with trauma like violence, illness, or family breakdown  
• Individuals with disabilities who can’t find a job that accommodates their needs  
• People who are disabled and are on OW while waiting to be transferred to ODSP or other disability support programs  
• People who have been laid off and do not qualify for Employment Insurance  
• Workers who have been injured on the job and cut off supports from WSIB  
• Women fleeing domestic violence  
• People who cannot find suitable affordable childcare  
• People who need more skills training to find a decent job  
• People whose families can’t or won’t help them.  

Because these crises and life events are often invisible, some people incorrectly conclude recipients are “defrauding the system.” But there are strenuous checks and balances to identify and deal with fraud. The most recent figures show that less than a tenth of one per cent (0.06%) of people receiving assistance had fraudulently sought or received support.  

Poverty harms us all. Having a robust social safety net – whether it’s social assistance, a pension or health care for all – is vital to a just society, where everyone matters at every stage of their life. When everyone can afford to feed and clothe themselves and pay rent, all of us are healthier, our communities are more resilient, and the complex costs of poverty are greatly reduced.

It makes economic sense for the Ontario government to invest in social assistance.

All people need and deserve stable income, an affordable place to live, nutritious food on the table, mental and physical health, and a community where each and every person is safe and valued.

• 1 in 4 kids in our community lives in poverty
  • 1 in 2 Status First Nations children lives in poverty
  • 1 in 5 racialized families live in poverty in Canada, as opposed to 1 in 20 non-racialized families
• 1 in 7 households in our community don’t have enough income to maintain a diet that is nutritious, adequate and deemed culturally acceptable
  • 1 in 8 households in Canada are food insecure
• Adults living in food insecure households account for more than 1 in 3 hospitalizations due to mental health problems
• People with serious mental health conditions are disproportionately affected by homelessness
• A vacancy rate of 1.8% across the London and Middlesex region drives rent costs higher and makes it even harder to find decent, affordable housing if you’re a family living in poverty
  • Almost 6,000 households are currently on the wait list for affordable housing in our region

Chronic illness and poor health are more consistent in low-income families than those earning a livable wage.  Families in poverty utilize more healthcare resources.  In 2019, poverty in our communities cost the Ontario health care system $3.9 billion alone.  Those who find themselves with poor health or with chronic illness find it more difficult to get out of poverty due to inadequate housing situations and poor nutrition.

The total cost of poverty to the Ontario government, reported in 2019, as $27.1 - 33 billion from all sectors.

We can't afford this anymore.  We need to make it livable.

WHAT CAN THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT DO?

• Increase social assistance benefits and tax-delivered benefits and credits

• Index all supports to inflation

• Enhance child benefits

• Invest in basic supports and services

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Endorse our recommendation

• Send a letter to Premier Doug Ford

• Send a letter to your local MPP

Choose to Act Now to advocate for change.